Hitachi Power Tools

by Ashley Horne

The company we know as Hitachi Power Tools is actually a small piece of a much larger picture. Hitachi Power Tools falls under the Hitachi Group which is part of the parent company, Hitachi Limited, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Hitachi was founded in 1910 by Namihei Odaira as an electrical repair shop and manufacturing facility. It has grown to include production and services in the following seven industrial segments:

• Information and Telecommunication Systems
• Electronic Devices
• Power and Industrial Systems
• Digital Media and Consumer Products
• High Functional Materials & Components
• Logistics, Services & Others
• Financial Services

Power tools, which are classified under the category of electronic devices, have been produced by Hitachi Koki Company Ltd since 1948. Great success was seen when a mere nine years later the production of power tools had reached 1 million units. In 1960, Hitachi began making pneumatic tools which helped them to reach production of more than 5 million units by 1968. In 1973, Hitachi began to export operations of electric power tools to the US which undoubtedly assisted in reaching total power tool production of more than 10 million units by 1974. However, it was not until 1980, that Hitachi Power Tools U.S.A. was created to market the company’s line of tools in the United States. The company quickly became reputable for product quality of pneumatic framing nailers and sliding compound miter saws and by 1985 had surpassed production of 30 million units.

Product innovation (such as the release of the cordless drill in 1979) and research and development are extremely important to the entire Hitachi Group. Hitachi contributes their hard work and dedication in these areas to their success in making faster, lighter, high quality professional power tools. In 1988, the company established an R&D center/power tools testing facility in Katsuta, Japan. Over the years many breakthroughs have been seen including simulation design technology in 2000 and the patent of internal double insulation in 2003.

In 1994 Hitachi Power Tools U.S.A. was renamed Hitachi Koki U.S.A. to denote the addition of manufacturing in the United States and has continued to expand including the opening of Hitachi Koki Canada Company in 1997. To date, the company manufactures more than 1000 models of electric power tools, has obtained ISO 9000 international standards for quality assurance and ISO 14001 certification for environmentally sound management. There is no arguing that Hitachi has taken great strides in the development of power tools and they are showing no sign of slowing down!